Pointing Device, Operating Method Thereof and Relative Multimedia Interactive System

ABSTRACT

An operating method of a display device includes detecting resolution of a display module for determining a border of a user interface reference frame, setting a border of a 3D spatial reference frame utilized by a pointing device to correspond to the border detected of the user interface reference frame, moving a cursor of the user interface reference frame displayed on the display module according to a shift of the pointing device, stopping controlling a shift of the cursor according to the shift of the pointing device when the shift of the pointing device exceeds the border of the 3D spatial reference frame, and resuming controlling the shift of the cursor in the user interface reference frame of the display module when the pointing device is back within the border of the 3D spatial reference frame. An advantage of the present invention is when out of the operating range, stopping controlling the cursor to lower the affect of offset, for allowing the pointing device to be applied in different areas/directions without having the cursor displayed on the display device to incorrectly reflect shift of the pointing device.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is related to a multimedia interactive system, and more particularly, to a pointing device and an operating method thereof of the multimedia interactive system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Please refer to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating movement restriction of a conventional multimedia interactive system 100. The multimedia interactive system 100 comprises a display device 110 and a pointing device 120. The pointing device 120 can be, for instance, an air mouse, a remote controller, a control handle of a gaming console or a laser pointer, etc., for controlling a cursor displayed on the display device 110. For instance, the cursor displayed on the display device 110 moves according to orientation, direction and distance of the movement of the pointing device 120. Accordingly, the display device 110 also displays movement trajectory and position-after-movement of the cursor according to such movement of the pointing device 120. Further, a position of the pointing device 120 can be represented by factors such as yaw angle, pitch angle and roll angle in a three-dimensional (3D) spatial reference frame.

In FIG. 1, an initial position of the cursor is set to be L1′ and an initial position of the pointing device 120 is L1. When the pointing device 120 moves towards right to a position L2, the shift is S1. The shift S1 will lead the cursor to make a shift S1′ and the cursor reaches a border (i.e. position L2′) of the display device 110. When the pointing device 120 continues to move towards right to a position L3, the shift is S2, but the cursor cannot continue to move towards right accordingly since the cursor has already reached the border of the display device 120, so the cursors stops at the border of the display device 110 (i.e. the cursor remains at the position L2′).

Afterwards, the pointing device 120 then moves back (i.e. moves towards left) to the position L2 and the shift is S2. The shift S2 will lead the cursor to make a shift S2′, so as to move from the position L2′ to a position L3′. The pointing device 120 then moves back (i.e. moves towards left) again to the initial position L1 and the corresponding shift is S1. The shift S1 will make the cursor to perform shift S1′ so the cursor is moved from the position L3′ to the position L4′. Although the pointing device 120 moves towards right at first then moves towards left to get back to the initial position L1, the cursor cannot get back to the initial position L1′ due to restriction of the border of the display device 110. In other words, in the conventional multimedia interactive system 100, a maximum limit exists for shift of the pointing device 120. If the maximum limit is exceeded, reset/recalibration is needed to restore the interaction between the cursor and the pointing device 120 back to normal.

Please refer to FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B. FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B are diagrams illustrating rotation restriction of the conventional multimedia interactive system 100. FIG. 2A illustrates when the rotation of the pointing device 120 is within a permissible range and FIG. 2B illustrates when the rotation of the pointing device 120 is out of the permissible range. In FIG. 2A, a rotation angle S3 of the pointing device 120 is within the permissible range, so the cursor displayed on the display device 110 makes a shift S3′ accordingly. In FIG. 2B, a rotation angle S4 of the pointing device 120 exceeds the permissible range, so although the cursor displayed on the display device 110 moves accordingly, but the cursor will stop at the border of the display device 110 due to restriction of the border of the display device 110. More specifically, the pointing device 120 continues transmitting signals of moving outwards, for the cursor to move outwards continuously, but due to restriction of the border of the display device 110, the cursor appears to be stationary to the user. For instance, the pointing device 120 can be a laser pointer. In FIG. 2A the later pointer points to the display device 110, for controlling movement of the cursor accordingly. In FIG. 2B the laser pointer points in a direction away from the display device 110, hence the permissible range is exceeded for the cursor to appear to be stationary.

Please refer to FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B. FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B are diagrams illustrating region restriction of the conventional multimedia interactive system 100. FIG. 3A illustrates when an operating range of the pointing device 120 is within a permissible region and FIG. 3B illustrates when the operating range of the pointing device 120 is beyond the permissible region. In FIG. 3A, the pointing device 120 makes a shift S5 in a permissible region A, hence the cursor displayed on the display device 110 also makes a shift S5′ accordingly. In FIG. 3B, the pointing device 120 is changed to operate in a region A′ which is beyond the permissible region A. Hence in FIG. 3B the shift S6 of the pointing device 120 in the region A′ cannot lead the cursor displayed on the display device 110 to move accordingly, and the cursor can only stop at the border of the display device 110. For instance, the pointing device 120 can be a laser pointer. In FIG. 3A the laser pointer is in front of the display device 110 so the cursor can be controlled with the laser pointer. In FIG. 3B a position of the laser pointer is far away from the display device 110, hence the permissible range is exceeded and the cursor cannot be controlled by the laser pointer.

Therefore as described above, in the conventional multimedia interactive system, operation of the pointing device encounters a lot of restrictions, causing inconveniences.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the present invention discloses an operating method of a pointing device. The operating method comprises controlling a shift of a cursor in a user interface reference frame according to a shift of the pointing device; and stopping controlling the shift of the cursor according to the shift of the pointing device, when the shift of the pointing device exceeds a border of a 3D (three-dimensional) spatial reference frame.

Another embodiment of the present invention discloses a pointing device. The pointing device comprises a pointing module, a border module and a control module. The pointing module is for detecting and storing a shift of the pointing module. The border module is for detecting a relation between a cursor and a user interface reference frame. The control module is for controlling a shift of the cursor in the user interface reference frame, according to the shift of the pointing module and the relation between the cursor and the user interface reference frame.

Another embodiment of the present invention discloses a multimedia interactive system. The multimedia interactive system comprises a pointing device and a display device. The pointing device comprises a pointing module. The pointing module comprises a motion sensing unit and a data transmission unit. The motion sensing unit is for detecting rotating behavior, acceleration or magnetic field of the pointing module. The data transmission unit is for transmitting data detected by the motion sensing unit. The display device comprises a processing unit, a border module, a control module and a display module. The processing unit is for performing an algorithm calculation to data transmitted by the data transmission unit, to generate a shift of the pointing module. The border module is for detecting a relation between a cursor and a user interface reference frame. The control module is for controlling a shift of the cursor in the user interface reference frame, according to the shift of the pointing module and the relation between the cursor and the user interface reference frame. The display module is for displaying the cursor and the user interface reference frame.

These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating movement restriction of a conventional multimedia interactive system.

FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B are diagrams illustrating rotation restriction of the conventional multimedia interactive system.

FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B are diagrams illustrating region restriction of the conventional multimedia interactive system.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating an operating method of a pointing device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a pointing device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a multimedia interactive system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating how the multimedia interactive system sets the border of the user interface reference frame to correspond to the border of the 3D spatial reference frame according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the pointing device of the multimedia interactive system has moved beyond the 3D spatial reference frame according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Please refer to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating an operating method 400 of a pointing device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Steps of the operating method 400 include:

Step S401: detecting a resolution of a display module for determining a border of a user interface reference frame; Step S402: setting a border of a 3D spatial reference frame utilized by a pointing device to correspond to the detected border of the user interface reference frame; Step S403: moving a cursor of the user interface reference frame displayed on the display module according to a shift of the pointing device; Step S404: stopping controlling a shift of the cursor according to the shift of the pointing device, when the shift of the pointing device exceeds the border of the 3D spatial reference frame; Step S405: resuming controlling the shift of the cursor in the user interface reference frame displayed on the display module when the pointing device is back within the border of the 3D spatial reference frame.

In step S401, the operating method 400 firstly detects a resolution of a display module (e.g. size of a monitor) controlled by a pointing device, for determining a range in which a cursor is able to move, such as 1024×768, 1920×1080 . . . , etc., so as to obtain a border/range of a user interface reference frame provided by/displayed on the display module.

In step S402, the operating method 400 sets a border of a three-dimensional (3D) spatial reference frame utilized by the pointing device according to the border, detected in step S401, of the user interface reference frame. More specifically, the 3D spatial reference frame utilized by the pointing device can be a plane which comprises an initial point in a 3D space. In step S402, the operating method 400 can then set the border of the 3D spatial reference frame on the plane, according to the resolution (detected in step S401) with respect to the initial point. This way, when the pointing device moves to the border of the 3D spatial reference frame, position of the pointing device corresponds to position of the cursor which also moves to the border of the user interface reference frame. For instance, assuming the initial point of the 3D spatial reference frame corresponds to a lower left corner of the user interface reference frame, so when the pointing device is at the initial point of the 3D spatial reference frame, the cursor is at a corresponding lower left corner of the user interface reference frame.

In step S403, the operating method 400 controls movement of the cursor in the user interface reference frame displayed on the display module, according to the shift of the pointing device in the 3D spatial reference frame. For instance, when the pointing device moves a first predetermined distance towards a direction x in the 3D spatial reference frame, the operating method 400 controls the cursor in the user interface reference frame to move a second predetermined distance towards the direction x, where the first predetermined distance and the second predetermined distance can be proportional to each other.

In step S404, when the shift of the pointing device exceeds the border of the 3D spatial reference frame, the operating method 400 stops controlling movement of the cursor. For instance, assuming the resolution of the display module is 1024×768. When the shift of the pointing device in the direction x exceeds 1024 units, meaning the cursor has moved to the border of the user interface reference frame, the operating method 400 will not continue to move the cursor.

In step S405, when the pointing device is back within the border of the 3D spatial reference frame, the operating method 400 resumes controlling movement of the cursor. For instance, assuming relative settings are the same as above, when the pointing device moves in the direction x from a position that is larger than 1024 units to a position that is smaller than 1024 units, the operating method 400 will still stop controlling movement of the cursor for the part that is larger than 1024 units, and resumes controlling movement of the cursor for the part that is smaller than 1024 units. Therefore, by utilizing operating method 400, when the pointing device is operating outside of a default operating range, position of the cursor displayed on the display module will not have offset issues, so unlike conventional technology, reset/recalibration is not required.

Please refer to FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a pointing device 500 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, the pointing device 500 comprises a pointing module 510, a border module 520 and a control module 530. The pointing device 500 can be an air mouse, a remote controller, a control handle of a gaming console or a laser pointer, etc., for controlling a cursor displayed on a display device.

The pointing module 510 detects and stores a shift/position of the pointing module 510 in a 3D spatial reference frame. The pointing module 510 comprises a motion sensing unit 511, a processing unit 512 and a data transmission unit 513. The motion sensing unit 511 comprises a rotation sensor 511 a, an accelerometer 511 b and/or a magnetometer 511 c. The rotation sensor 511 a detects rotating behavior of the pointing module 510. The accelerometer 511 b detects acceleration of the pointing module 510. The magnetometer 511 c determines a position of the pointing module 510 according to earth's magnetic field (i.e. detecting force of the earth's magnetic field). The processing unit 512 performs an algorithm calculation to data obtained by the motion sensing unit 511 (e.g. data obtained by the rotation sensor 511 a, the accelerometer 511 b and/or the magnetometer 511 c), for obtaining a shift signal SM. The data transmission unit 513 then transmits the shift signal SM obtained to the border module 520 and the control module 530.

Further, the motion sensing unit 511 can be realized with the rotation sensor and the accelerometer only, without the magnetometer. More specifically, when the motion sensing unit 511 is a six-axis sensing unit, the motion sensing unit 511 can be realized with only the rotation sensor and the accelerometer, but such setup is unable to detect the absolute position. When the motion sensing unit 511 is a nine-axis sensing unit, the motion sensing unit 511 then requires rotation sensor, the accelerometer and the magnetometer to be realized, so the absolute position can be detected. An advantage of being able to detect the absolute position is that if the pointing device is idled for a period of time, when a user is to use the pointing device again, the 3D spatial reference frame and the initial point utilized by the pointing device are not required to be reset. On the other hand, if the pointing device utilizes the six-axis sensing unit, the absolute position cannot be detected. If the pointing device is idled for a period of time, when a user is to use the pointing device again, the 3D spatial reference frame and the initial point utilized by the pointing device will require to be reset.

The border module 520 detects whether the cursor being controlled has reached a border of a user interface reference frame displayed on the display module, for notifying the control module 530 to move the cursor or not. The display module displays the user interface reference frame and the cursor. The border module 520 comprises a border determining unit 521, a border setting unit 522 and a resolution detecting unit 523. The border determining unit 521 receives the shift signal SM, for determining whether the position/shift of the pointing module 510 is within a border of a 3D spatial reference frame, so as to transmit a border determining signal SB accordingly.

The border setting unit 522 sets the border of the 3D spatial reference frame utilized by the pointing module 510, and sets the border of the 3D spatial reference frame to correspond to the border of the user interface reference frame. This way, when the position/shift of the pointing module 510 is at the border of the 3D spatial reference frame, the corresponding position of the cursor is at the border of the user interface reference frame displayed on the display module. The resolution detecting unit 523 detects a resolution of the display module. The resolution of the display module is utilized to be the border of the user interface reference frame. The resolution detecting unit 523 generates a user interface reference frame border signal SBU according to the resolution of the display module. In other words, the resolution detecting unit 523 transmits border data of the user interface reference frame to the border setting unit 522 via the user interface reference frame border signal SBU, according to the resolution of the display module. The border setting unit 522 can then set the border of the 3D spatial reference frame according to the border of the user interface reference frame, for generating a 3D spatial reference frame border signal SB3 and providing the 3D spatial reference frame border signal SB3 to the border determining unit 521.

This way, when the shift signal SM indicates the shift of the pointing module is within the border of the 3D spatial reference frame, meaning the cursor is within the border of the user interface reference frame, the border determining unit 521 does not output the border determining signal SB. In contrast, when the shift signal SM indicates the shift of the pointing module has exceeded the border of the 3D spatial reference frame, meaning the cursor has reached the border of the user interface reference frame, the border determining unit 521 then outputs the border determining signal SB.

The control module 530 controls the shift of the cursor in the user interface reference frame, according to the shift signal SM and a relation between the cursor and the user interface reference frame detected by the border module 520. More specifically, when the control module 530 has not received the border determining signal SB, meaning the cursor is still within the user interface reference frame and has not reached the border of the user interface reference frame, the control module 530 controls the shift of the cursor according to the shift signal SM. On the other hand, when the control module 530 has received the border determining signal SB, meaning the cursor has reached the border of the user interface reference frame, the control module 530 stops controlling the cursor.

Please refer to FIG. 6. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a multimedia interactive system 600 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The multimedia interactive system 600 comprises a pointing module 610, a border module 620, a control module 630 and a display module 670. The pointing module 610 comprises a motion sensing unit 611, a processing unit 612 and a data transmission unit 613. The motion sensing unit 611 comprises a rotation sensor 611 a, an accelerometer 611 b and/or a magnetometer 611 c. The border module 620 comprises a border determining unit 621, a border setting unit 622 and a resolution detecting unit 623. The components mentioned above are similar to those mentioned in previous paragraphs (e.g. FIG. 5), so relative descriptions are omitted hereinafter. The multimedia interactive system 600 further comprises a pointing device 650 and a display device 660. When the pointing device 650 comprises the pointing module 610, the border module 620 and the control module 630, the display device 660 only needs to comprise the display module 670, but a pointing device with such setup consumes more power.

Alternatively, the pointing device 650 can only comprise the motion sensing unit 611 of the pointing module 610 and the data transmission unit 613, and dispose the processing unit 612, the border module 620, the control module 630 and the display module 670 in the display device 660 (as shown in FIG. 6), for decreasing power consumption of the pointing device. However, such setup will cause the data obtained by the rotation sensor 611 a, the accelerometer 611 b and/or the magnetometer 611 c to transmit, via either wired or wireless transmission, to the processing unit 612 for processing, so as to obtain the shift signal SM. In other words, in such setup, the data transmission unit 613 directly transmits, via either wired or wireless transmission, the data detected by the motion sensing unit to the display device 660. In the display device 660, the processing unit 612 can then receive, via either wired or wireless transmission, the data transmitted by the data transmission unit 613 and performing the algorithm calculation, for generating the shift of the pointing module 610 and then transmits the shift to the control module 630.

Please refer to FIG. 7. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating how the multimedia interactive system 600 sets the border of the user interface reference frame to correspond to the border of the 3D spatial reference frame according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7, vertical range of a user interface reference frame UF of the display device 660 can be from an upper right corner to a lower right corner of the user interface reference frame UF, and a pitch angle of the 3D spatial reference frame utilized by the corresponding pointing device 650 is AP. Horizontal range of the user interface reference frame UF of the display device 660 can be from the upper right corner to a upper left corner of the user interface reference frame UF, and a yaw angle of the 3D spatial reference frame utilized by the corresponding pointing device 650 is AY. This way, when a pitch angle of the pointing device 650 is larger than the pitch angle AP, or when a yaw angle of the pointing device 650 is larger than the yaw angle AY, meaning the pointing device 650 has exceeded the border of the 3D spatial reference frame and the cursor has reached the border of the user interface reference frame UF, the control module 630 stops controlling movement of the cursor. The control module 630 resumes controlling movement of the cursor when the pointing device 650 is back within the border of the 3D spatial reference frame.

Please refer to FIG. 8. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the pointing device of the multimedia interactive system 600 has moved beyond the 3D spatial reference frame according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 8, assuming an initial position of the cursor is set to L1′ and an initial position of the pointing device 650 is L1. When the pointing device 650 moves towards right to a position L2, the shift is S1. The shift S1 will lead the cursor to make a shift S1′ to reach a border (e.g. position L2′) of the user interface reference frame (e.g. the display device 660). At this moment, the multimedia interactive system 600 of the present invention is able to determine the border of the 3D spatial reference frame (as shown in FIG. 8) utilized by the pointing device 650 due to the border module 620 is disposed in the multimedia interactive system 600. Therefore when the pointing device 650 continues to move towards right to a position L3, the shift is S2, but since the pointing device 650 has now exceeded the border of the 3D spatial reference frame, the control module 630 stops controlling the cursor.

Afterwards, the pointing device 650 moves back (i.e. moves towards left) to the position L2 and the shift is S2, and since the pointing device still exceeds the border of the 3D spatial reference frame, the control module 630 still stops controlling the cursor for the cursor to remain at the position L2′. Lastly, the pointing device 650 moves back (i.e. moves towards left) again to the initial position L1 and the corresponding shift is S1. Since the pointing device 650 is now back within the border of the 3D spatial reference frame, the control module 630 resumes controlling the cursor, for the cursor to make the shift S1 from the position L2′ to reach the position L1′. This way, the last position of the cursor is identical to the initial position of the cursor, so unlike the conventional technology, reset/recalibration is not needed.

In conclusion, when out of the operating range, the pointing device of the present invention stops controlling the cursor, so as to lower the affect of offset, allowing the pointing device to be applied in different areas/directions without having the cursor displayed on the display device to incorrectly reflect shift of the pointing device.

Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the meters and bounds of the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An operating method of a pointing device, comprising: controlling a shift of a cursor in a user interface reference frame according to a shift of the pointing device; and stopping controlling the shift of the cursor according to the shift of the pointing device, when the shift of the pointing device exceeds a border of a 3D (three-dimensional) spatial reference frame.
 2. The operating method of claim 1, further comprising: setting the border of the 3D spatial reference frame to correspond to a border of the user interface reference frame, so when the cursor is at the border of the user interface reference frame, the pointing device is at the border of the 3D spatial reference frame
 3. The operating method of claim 1, further comprising: resuming controlling the shift of the cursor in the user interface reference frame according to the shift of the pointing device, when the pointing device is back within the border of the 3D spatial reference frame.
 4. The operating method of claim 1, further comprising: detecting a resolution of a display module for obtaining the border of the user interface reference frame, wherein the cursor and the user interface reference frame are displayed on the display module.
 5. A pointing device, comprising: a pointing module, for detecting and storing a shift of the pointing module; a border module, for detecting a relation between a cursor and a user interface reference frame; and a control module, for controlling a shift of the cursor in the user interface reference frame, according to the shift of the pointing module and the relation between the cursor and the user interface reference frame.
 6. The pointing device of claim 5, wherein the border module comprises: a border determining unit, for determining whether the shift of the pointing module is within a border of a 3D spatial reference frame, for accordingly generating a border determining signal and providing the border determining signal to the control module; a border setting unit, for setting the border of the 3D spatial reference frame to correspond to a border of the user interface reference frame, so when the cursor is at the border of the user interface reference frame, the pointing module is at the border of the 3D spatial reference frame; and a resolution detecting unit, for detecting a resolution of a display module to obtain the border of the user interface reference frame and providing the border of the user interface reference frame to the border setting unit; wherein the cursor and the user interface reference frame are displayed on the display module.
 7. The pointing device of claim 6, wherein when the shift of the pointing module has exceeded the border of the 3D spatial reference frame, the border determining unit generates the border determining signal, and when the control module receives the border determining signal, the control module stops controlling the shift of the cursor in the user interface reference frame.
 8. The pointing device of claim 5, wherein the pointing module comprises: a motion sensing unit, for detecting rotating behavior, acceleration or magnetic field of the pointing module; a processing unit, for performing an algorithm calculation to data detected by the motion sensing unit, so as to generate the shift of the pointing module; and a data transmission unit, for transmitting the shift of the pointing module to the border module and the control module.
 9. A multimedia interactive system, comprising: a pointing device, comprising: a pointing module, comprising: a motion sensing unit, for detecting rotating behavior, acceleration or magnetic field of the pointing module; and a data transmission unit, for transmitting data detected by the motion sensing unit; and a display device, comprising: a processing unit, for performing an algorithm calculation to data transmitted by the data transmission unit, to generate a shift of the pointing module; a border module, for detecting a relation between a cursor and a user interface reference frame; a control module, for controlling a shift of the cursor in the user interface reference frame, according to the shift of the pointing module and the relation between the cursor and the user interface reference frame; and a display module, for displaying the cursor and the user interface reference frame.
 10. The multimedia interactive system of claim 9, wherein the border module comprises: a border determining unit, for determining whether the shift of the pointing module is within a border of a 3D spatial reference frame, so as to accordingly generate a border determining signal and provide the border determining signal to the control module; a border setting unit, for setting the border of the 3D spatial reference frame to correspond to a border of the user interface reference frame, so when the cursor is at the border of the user interface reference frame, the pointing module is at the border of the 3D spatial reference frame; and a resolution detecting unit, for detecting a resolution of a display module to obtain the border of the user interface reference frame and provide the border of the user interface reference frame to the border setting unit;
 11. The multimedia interactive system of claim 10, wherein when the shift of the pointing module has exceeded the border of the 3D spatial reference frame, the border determining unit generates the border determining signal, and when the control module receives the border determining signal, the control module stops controlling the shift of the cursor in the user interface reference frame. 